Reflection on Depression

Federal High-Risk Insurance Pool Goes Into Effect

High risk pool going into effect soon

Good news. The temporary insurance plan for uninsured individuals with pre-existing conditions went into effect. The program will provide coverage to the "uninsurable" until 2014 when new regulations kick-in to prevent insurance companies from turning away customers with pre-existing conditions. 

Yay!  I was disqualified from individual insurance last year because of my mental health treatment.  As a result, I had to pay for services out of pocket for several months before I was able to join a group plan provided by my new employer. I'm glad to know that new safeguards are in place to help others in a similar condition obtain coverage. (I was very lucky to be able to afford $800 a month in medical expenses!)

Rosalynn Carter writes new book about mental illness

Rosalynn Carter's new book about mental illness is out. In "Within Out Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis" the former first lady discusses what needs to be done to improve services for the mentally ill. (I haven't read it yet so that's about as specific as I can get, but I'm looking forward to it).

Carter has campaigned for better mental health services for over three decades. She's been pivotal in putting an end to the era of institutionalization and to campaigning for better community services. It's clear, though, that Mrs. Carter remains concerned that community services today are not adequate to meet the needs of the mentally ill, and so, at 82, she's still working to improve funding and access. Not bad for someone in "retirement"!

Mother's Day: Celebrating the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act

This Mother's Day is extra special because we can finally celebrate the passage of the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act--legislation passed as part of healthcare reform that creates a federally funded research program for postpartum depression and psychosis. Yay for mothers' health!  

See here for coverage from Postpartum Progress, including a video of the press conference.  

Depression initiative aimed at reducing depression among African-Americans

 Check out this depression initiative aimed at African-Americans. The two-year campaign was kicked off in February at Howard University by depression activist and author Terri Williams and leaders from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. To see the website for the campaign check out Share Ourselves at www.storiesthatheal.samhsa.gov. The site has video resources as well as links to organizations and agencies that provide help for people with depression.

Paolo del Vecchio of SAMHSA noted that African Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 have a higher incidence of mental health disorders than the overall population, and that the increase in the suicide rate among young African Americans is twice the rate of their white counterparts. Yet less than one half of African Americans who need treatment receive it.

"Depression is killing black people by the thousands," Williams said, "and it's important to talk about it, no matter what our own personal fear might be. We must share our stories with each other, especially our young."

(Image of Terri Williams, businesswoman and Mental Health Activist)

Healthcare reform: New "centers of excellence" for depression treatment

Taking a cue from the war on cancer, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) provides for "centers of excellence" for the treatment of depression and bipolar disorders.  The legislation includes grants for up to 20 centers across the country the first year and up to 30 within the first 5 years.  Hosted by eminent research facilities, each center of excellence will engage in research on the causes and evidence-based treatments of depressive disorders and will host clinical programs that bring this knowledge to patients.  Like the cancer centers created decades ago, the centers of excellence for depression will provide people across the country with access to high quality treatment, and will hopefully reduce the stigma of these disorders.

Depression centers based on the cancer center model

Healthcare Reform - Some Background on Mental Health Parity

Love it or hate it, healthcare reform is here to stay. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) was signed into law by President Obama one week ago today. Over the next few weeks, I plan to highlight sections of the bill that are particularly relevant to people living with a mental illness. 

Before I delve into the current legislation, I want to mention a 2008 Act which provides for greater parity in the treatment of mental and physical illnesses.

As part of the 2008 economic bailout, Congress passed the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. This law requires large group plans that provide mental health benefits to provide these benefits on par with traditional medical benefits. That is, the same deductibles, caps, limits, and out-of-pocket expenses must apply.

The bill was championed for twelve years by senator Pete Domenici (R-AZ) and the late senator Paul Wellstone (R-Minn). Below is a link to a 2008 Time magazine interview in which Domencici discusses passage of the bill. 

When Bush signed the bill into law in 2008 I doubt anyone realized just how significant parity would become in light of healthcare reform. Now, not only will millions more Americans soon have health insurance, but they will have insurance that provides adequate coverage for mental illness.

Senator Pete Domenici on the Mental Health Parity Bill of 2008

Healthcare debate in the home stretch

Will the House pass the Senate's healthcare bill? It's too close to call. 

The latest on the healthcare bill  

My feelings are mixed -- this bill seems to be better than what we have now, but still has a lot of problems. How are we going to control costs? Are we ever going to get away from an employer-based system? 

A good thing about this bill for people who have a mental illness is that it would prohibit insurers from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions. In my case, this would allow me to buy insurance individually. Currently my preexisting condition (depression with a treatment history of four or more medications) disqualifies me from individual insurance, although I am lucky enough to get healthcare through a group plan at work. 

Prohibiting these denials would be a further improvement on the mental health parity legislation signed into law by George W. Bush as part of the economic bailout.